


Witchcraft

by crazynoona



Category: British Actor RPF, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Christmas, Eventual Smut, F/M, Halloween, Not Beta'd, Romance, Witch!Darcy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 01:07:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8947156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazynoona/pseuds/crazynoona
Summary: Hey guys, it's been quite a while isn't it XD pardon my absence (and now I'm feeling exceptionally nervous whether I'm about to share some trash or something actually worth reading. I hope for the latter).Anyway, this one, I started writing for the Halloween, yep, last Halloween. Talking about being late. Alas, I can't unwind the clocks' hands, but I certainly can stretch the event running in the story and making this a Christmas appropriate fic instead. I swear to god of mischiefs, I only wanted to write hot, dirty smut, to write my otp doing the holiday do, and look what I ended up with!!! Now this one is a finished mini ficlet, and I'm planning to upload them every few days while I edit some minor details in it, just in time for the holidays. Wish me luck.Hope you're gonna like it! Enjoy darlings!xxoo P.S.: I' writing this for fun, just like all the other fics I've wrote. So no offence to all the witches or working psychologists out there. I'm just a thoughtless visual artist. Trying to write. Mostly at 3AM.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, it's been quite a while isn't it XD pardon my absence (and now I'm feeling exceptionally nervous whether I'm about to share some trash or something actually worth reading. I hope for the latter).
> 
> Anyway, this one, I started writing for the Halloween, yep, last Halloween. Talking about being late. Alas, I can't unwind the clocks' hands, but I certainly can stretch the event running in the story and making this a Christmas appropriate fic instead. I swear to god of mischiefs, I only wanted to write hot, dirty smut, to write my otp doing the holiday do, and look what I ended up with!!! Now this one is a finished mini ficlet, and I'm planning to upload them every few days while I edit some minor details in it, just in time for the holidays. Wish me luck.
> 
> Hope you're gonna like it! Enjoy darlings!  
> xxoo
> 
>  
> 
> P.S.: I' writing this for fun, just like all the other fics I've wrote. So no offence to all the witches or working psychologists out there. I'm just a thoughtless visual artist. Trying to write. Mostly at 3AM.

* * *

 

 

**_31st October,_ **

 

"What do you mean Mrs. Cole had canceled our appointment?" Loki's voice was icy cold as he leveled his narrowed eyes towards his secretary for three years, Lucy, who was now hiding half her face behind a folder she hold. 

It was the usual busy Monday and only ten in the morning, he hadn't finish his second cup of coffee and yet his perfectly scheduled day at the end of October, in a perfectly sunlit office had started to deteriorate, one client at a time.

 _"Er-_  I thought I told you already. Yesterday, right after you left for a meeting. Mrs. Cole called and said she didn't need your counselling anymore sir. That she was happy, isn't that great?" she chose her words very carefully. 

 _What preposterous bullshit is this?_  "You read her files. That woman has a chronic  _MDD_. This is not a joke Lu, I clearly told you to contact her and tell her to come for her scheduled therapy!" That poor woman helplessly, tragically witnessed her husband died on a traffic accident about a year ago. She was still rightfully depressed when they last met. And he was supposed to believe that she's _happy?!_

"I _did_ call her again. She gave me the same answer," the woman did sound a lot peaceful over the phone. "Maybe take it as a chance to take an early day off, and just, you know, be happy for her new found happiness?" What was he complaining about when this only meant he got at least one less problem to deal with? His schedule was always packed either with counsels, lectures, publishing books, and other million things one could imagine including assisting the local police department who had been claiming him as their human lie detector every now and then. The man worked his ass off day in and out harder than anyone she knew. There was no wonder why he's still single and easily pissed. Or  _maybe_  that was the reason why he's so easily pissed. He should've just given up to one of those women who were so willingly to undergo an expensive and intensive appointment just so they could see him.

"I'm not a sadist, of course I  _would_  be happy for her if that's what truly the case!" Human mind was a complex thing and that kind of trauma doesn't just go away. A departing of a dearest one, be it sudden or not, wasn't something you get over in matters of days, weeks, or even years. Trust his words for it, he'd been there. 

 _Been there? As if you ever got out?_  Loki clenched his hands, blocking any unwanted emotions from flooding back into his mind.

"Is it that witch again? Did she just stole my client,  _again?"_ Mrs. Cole would be the fourth. For fuck's sake. WHO, in their right mind, would believe that absurd superstition could really solve their problems?!

Which was another reason why he's 110% sure that Mrs. Cole is definitely still  **not**  okay.

"Wha- which witch?"

" _Which witch?_ What are we?" he raised both hands in question as he hissed sharply, "Clergymen? Are we living in the Middle Ages? Don't play coy with me Lu, you know  _bloody_  damn well _which_ witch!" 

Not meeting her boss' eyes, Lucy laughed nervously, waving her hand, "Oh you mean Madam Lewis from across the street?"

" _Madam?_ " He scoffed derisively.

"We didn't make that up, that's what's written in front of her shop," she jutted her thumbs towards the window, to where the tacky shop, in its tacky purple shade, was located.

"But of course, that old trickster must've had put some fancy, exotic words on it, to lure pitiful people into her traps." Like when she fooled the owner of that building to lease his property to open her shady practice six months ago. How could she manage to keep up with the upscale rent for this long anyway? Oh that's right. By  _stealing_  his clients that was how.

"She's not old. She's actually pretty young and  _really_  hot," Lucy said.

He rolled his eyes, "I have standards, and she most probably had drugged all of you with her  _organic_  tea."

"Have you ever seen her though? Actually seen her? Up close?" she asked.

"I do not want  _nor_  do I fell the need to. She's an impostor! I cannot believe people are still buying that kind of bullshit these days." Truly unfathomable.

"But sir, she's pretty accurate you know." Lucy regretted the statement the second those words came out of her mouth. Superstition was kind of a big no-no in this office.

"Don't tell me," he sighed, "You went to see her? Have everyone, but me in this building too?"

 _Maybe._  "N-no of course I didn't! But all the other girls and the guys went there, and my girlfriend also told me -"

"You know Lucy, I really hate to blow my own horn, but this facility we're standing on is the most prestigious, well-known and sought after psychotherapy centre in the whole country for over than five years," he began his tirade, leaning his ass on his desk whilst throwing his arm about his office, where the books he wrote (and co-wrote) were lining on the mahogany shelves and printed articles of him are framed and neatly hanged across the dune-colored walls. "And yet, here you are telling me that MY own employees went to get their fortune told from a CRYSTAL BALL?!"

"Don't answer that," he briskly cut her when she was about to open her mouth to speak, "I don't need to hear more of this blasphemy. Get Mrs. Cole on the line. I need a word with her."

"She's not gonna be happy," she informed, looking at him as if he was the Grinch who's about to steal Christmas from an old lady.

He gave a firm nod, unfazed, "As she should be," Loki snapped his fingers and pointed to the door, "go."

Lucy made a face at her boss' infuriating dismissal (after she turned away from him of course). She was only two steps away from exiting his office door when she suddenly stopped by the window, right where his Celestron telescope stood. Then she leaned over, thinking maybe her eyes were trying to play tricks on her. She peered out the blinds and gasped, "By the way sir, I think your brother is on board with the rest of us, because I just saw him parking across the street."

"What do you mean?"

 _"Your_  brother. See, that's his car isn't it? He just went inside the shop."

 _What the ever living fuck?!_  "Thor?!" A red Valkyrie. It is his car!

See. This level of idiocy was exactly why Loki had always thought he was adopted long before the truth came out. It was so obvious how unrelated they both are, and this time Loki was actually grateful for that. It was going to be a cold day in hell before his brain could dive into a whole new low like walking into that mumbo jumbo of a place to get a reading, no matter how desperate he was or how hot (unlikely) people said the witch may be.

"Huge, hunky, blonde, yeah, that would be him alright. Carrying a bouquet of Chrysanthemum with a big grin across his face. He probably heard about the place from his friends, Fandral did came a few weeks ago. I heard his charm didn't work on her though, serves him right," Lucy giggled as she went out and closed the door behind her.

So that woman had standard too, good for her. But that didn't change the fact that she was a fraud and now Thor had fallen into her trap. 

No, no. He cannot let that happen. This travesty had to end. Stealing clients was one thing, but that witch wasn't going to fool Thor (as much as he deserved it) too! His head had probably loose some of its screws already, college football injuries took quite a toll on him. If she took whatever braincells left in him, he'd be too stupid to live and Loki would have to look after his stupid ass for the rest of his life! No. Fucking. Way.

 

***

 

The great Sun Tzu once said that if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. That was exactly why Loki brought his car around and parked the convertible right in front of one place he never thought he would ever visit in his life. Yes. That's right. The fortune teller's shop right across the street.

La Primavera.

 _That is too good of a name for a place like this. Botticelli would turn on his grave,_  he sourly thought as he peered at the storefront sign from inside his car. He turned the handle and willed himself outside. 

Firmly keeping the prejudice in mind, Loki proceeded to the front door, briefly peeking from the clear window where recognisable pots of roses, lavender, basil, rosemary and of course, carved pumpkins were all neatly lined up on its bricked edge.

The place looked empty. He could see most of everything in the main room to the small kitchen area at the back from out here. There was no one inside. Not risking people catching him in the front of this shop for another minute he went back to the door and gave it a firm knock.

 _Where the hell is she? Polishing her crystal ball?_  He needed to make this visit as brief as planned otherwise he'd be late for tonight's Halloween's party at a new hip club restaurant in the Lower East Side. As usual, he got more than a few invitations, but due to hectic work this year he considered on going into just one since he didn't have enough time to prepare a proper costume. Maybe later, in his navy pinstripe suit, just add splattered of fake blood he still kept from years before, he could pass as a decent Patrick Bateman (or Bruce Wayne? Without the blood that is).

He got no answer whatsoever until the third knock. It was only 5 PM, it was supposed to be open until six - according to her website.

Taking a chance, he turned the door handle and found it unlocked. He pushed it open and was welcomed by rows of sea-shells curtains and ... a black cat. How typical. Its back straight as it sat and stared eerily at him.

"The door is unlocked. I'm not trespassing."  _Did I just explain myself to a cat?_ Well, there was always a first time for everything. He ignored the cat and closed the door behind him to continue to scan about the room, and for some reasons unknown the green eyed cat was trailing behind him like a shadow, literally. 

To his surprise he found everything inside was less ostentatious than he'd expected. There were no smell of incense burning, only clean and fresh citrusy scent. As he'd seen from the window out side, this place looked more like an antique shop with its chic Bohemian style (one or two things he learnt from an interior designer he once slept with after she finished remodelling his office), rather than a fortune teller parlour. There were various of vintage objects and books lining on the shelves to his left and right, aligned to the walls. With three fingers he took one book out, the one that poked out among the rest. He narrowed his eyes at the cover and swiftly, neatly put it back, scoffing at the title ( _Chakra Healing)._

"Where's your human?" There was still no one in sight so yeah, he talked to the cat again. No one was there to witness it anyway.

"Hello? Is anyone in?" he shouted louder as he kept on walking further in. He past another weird looking spot right in the center of the room adjacent to the big window. A bleached salvaged wood and concrete were styled into an industrial- _esque_  platform bed. He bet that it wasn't really a bed, though anyone could definitely sleep on it. It looked more like a meditation spot or a shrine with various sizes candles, multicolored Moroccan themed pillows, and to top it all of, a canopy hanging above it.

Before he finished his inspection, a door at the back of the room slammed open and a woman rushed inside, screaming bloody murder as she ran toward him in full speed.

"AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAaaaaaAAAAAAAhhHHH!!!!"

 _What the heck?_ He stared at her, dumbfounded. The lights above his head were all flickering as she kept on screaming. His train of thought came to a full stop as her soft body collided to his. If his legs weren't as strong she could probably topple them together. He looked down to his chest where the woman was clutching her hands to the front of his shirt as she cried the words  _'dead'_  and  _'blood'_  on chorus.

"Who's dead?" he had to ask, ready to dial 911 if needed be.

"The mice!" 

"Pardon me?" he tried to back away, to free himself from the sudden intrusion, but apparently despite her small frame the woman was rather strong.

Her hands were stubbornly holding on to his shirt but she slowly lifted her head, her headset slipped back and her wavy brown hair shifted away, giving him a clear view of her face. Loki regretted looking at her almost immediately. 

Lucy was, apparently, not lying nor her tea was drugged. He kept on peering at the oblivious woman. It was inevitable, she was too pleasing of a view for him not to and the fact that she was, came as a real shocker to him. But, when he further looked at her, he realised that it wasn't just because she's pretty. He'd _seen_ lots of pretty. There was something  _more,_  he just couldn't explain what to be exact because before he had the chance to contemplate further, she lifted her face and those blue glassy, sibylline eyes of hers clashed to his. 

At that moment, he felt something from within those pools of mesmerising blue. They were pulling him closer, drowning him deeper until everything around him faded away, including that faint upbeat melody that came out of her headset. Loki could see her lips moving as she talked but as everything else, her words too feel distant, foreign. He even momentarily forgot why he was there. She kept talking on and on, yammering about fixing a leaky faucet and found this dead mouse right under the sink.

In the end it was her panic that had snapped him out of his daze. Naturally, Loki decided to be the bigger person and went inside to clean the mess for her (someone should hand him a medal right about fucking now). It would only make sense to do so, otherwise she would stick to him all night. 

At least the lights were back to normal now, so he had a clear vision on where to touch and _not_ to touch. As he kneeled down and cleaned, the woman kept on watching behind his shoulders, while the cat perched on _her_ shoulder like a hawk, aloofly licking its paw while she chastised the troublemaker and its 'gift'. 

"How many times Midnight?! I told you, I'm not into that kind of thing!" her protest fell on deaf ears as the cat jumped off, deciding not to hear anymore of that ungrateful bullshit.

"Are you the owner of this place?" Loki asked, washing his hands. It was quite clear that she is, he just needed to hear a confirmation.

"Is it gone?" she asked instead of answering, there was a slight quiver in her tone and his earlier question was left unheard.

He nodded and turned to face her, "All done."

"Oh thank God you're here! I'm SO sorry for freaking out, I was just, it's just - the sight of blood makes me sick,  _ughh_ , anyway, thank You!" she repeated her thanks for a few more times before she stopped herself.

Realisation was apparent on her face and her smile faded when she asked, "Who are you and how did you get in?"

"The door wasn't locked," he gestured to the direction of the entrance.

"Shit! I forgot to lock it again," she slapped her forehead, "We're supposed to be closed for the night."

Okay, so she  _is_  the shameless woman that's been toying with people's mental health. "It's Halloween, sure you're not up for just one more customer?"

He guarded his expression, not wanting to let her detect his fishy intention or the attraction he felt toward her person shown. He refused to let this woman's innocent exterior fooled him too. Not that she looked innocent,  _oh no mam_. She looked positively enticing, it was just she didn't dress like the poser she is. Or perhaps that was just her costume. Maybe she wanted to appear normal for Halloween, just like everybody else on a typical day. Only much prettier and way hotter if he might add.

For investigation's sake though, he studied her further, beyond her glasses and into her eyes, to read between the subtle lines on her expression and her body language. That was how he usually began his work with most of his clients. There was always a giveaway, subtle hints to be found despite a person's unwillingness to open up.  

Only, it didn't seem to work on her.  _How? Why?_  This kind of thing usually came naturally for him. Really, reading into someone was like reading a book if one pays close enough attention, but somehow he can't seem to see through her. 

She must be a pro at this.

"You're not a customer," she stated calmly, one hand perched on her hip.

The simple movement drawed his eyes to the white crop top shirt she wore under her jeans overall. Her simple outfit clearly couldn't cover the dangerous curves she hid underneath that he had to keep on reminding his lower half that he wasn't there to socialise or screw around. He was there to catch her lies so he could save everyone he knew from her cheap scam. And to do that he needed to catch her off-guard, to open her mind and not her legs.

"Am I?" he challenged.

"Are you?" she shot back.

"I could be," he smiled, a bit too cockily.

"Listen Mr -?"

"Loki. Loki Odinson," he offered his hand.

She welcomed it in a heartbeat and at that moment he saw her eyes widened exactly before an ear-splitting thunder roared outside just as she mentioned her name. The room fell into a complete silence as he stilled, partly shocked. Her hand was still in his.

"It's not suppose to rain tonight," he peered to the window, a bit worried for his car.

She shook his hand, turning his focus back to her, "Don't worry. It won't."

He narrowed his eyes and finally letting go off their linked palms, "You sound so sure."

"Only because I am," she smiled. "I'm Darcy Lewis by the way, incase you missed it."

"I know. I'm your neighbour from across the street. Pleasure to finally meet you  _Madam_ ," there was an unmistakable mockery in the way he pronounced that last word. He couldn't help it. On whether she noticed or not he couldn't tell because her smile seemed genuine.

"Oh so you're Thor's brother, that famous shrink?" her eyes lighted up.

 _Ha!_  "I'd prefer psychologist or more commonly, doctor, but yes that would be me."

"Pleasure's all mine doctor, please call me Darcy."

"Just Loki please." He wondered why some people say that he was pretentious. Sometimes maybe, but he wasn't going as far as telling people to call him by his title (besides, to mention the entirety of his degrees would be too Goddamn long).

"You're more beautiful than what I've heard." Perhaps flattery could work his way in.

"Well you know, I needed  _something_ to draw attention away from my-" she pointed down to her ample chest, which on a normal circumstances, would really crack him up. "Anyway, thank you," she slightly turned away and flipped the long hair that fell to her shoulder as her fingers fiddle with the black velvet ribbon that wrapped around her delicate neck.

The simple gesture made him wonder what it would feel like to touch the smooth skin beneath it, or better yet, how would it taste if he were to sink his teeth into it. Thankfully he had better judgement and self-restraint, besides he wasn't going to touch where Thor had laid his fingers on. That swift bastard.

"I mean it," Loki replied, and against said better judgement, he noticed that he was actually being sincere.

Darcy pointed to the cat, who was lounging on her cat 'throne' right on top of the nearest book shelf, "Midnight likes you, which means, you're not that bad either."

 _The cat liked him?_   He wanted to laugh (but he held it in), all  _kitties_  did love him anyway, why should hers be any exception? "How can you tell? Does it talk to you? You can communicate with animals too?"

"You got not a scratch on you. That's enough telling for me," she said with a straight face.

"Lucky me," he replied dryly.

"I've heard quite a lot about you, Loki," she continued, walking in circle around him as if he was her prey.

"All good words I hope?" Her answer wasn't really needed since it's plainly written on her face.

"I can't really say, clients' discretion and all, I'm sure you understand," she winked and stands in front of him.

"Of course."  _Why does it feel like they're flirting? Should he let her? Heck, should he let himself?!_

"So, is there a purpose to your visit on this fortunate Halloween's night? Because it would be six months too late if you're here to welcome your new neighbour," she teased.

After cleaning up the mess her cat made, he was sure she wouldn't decline his request, "I was hoping to get a reading."

Darcy threw him a pointed look but said nothing to voice her apparent doubt. "Sure, yeah," she shrugged.

"In one condition though," she tipped her head, taking off her glasses with one hand, folded and slipped its handle to the front pocket of her overall.

"Anything."

"I'm not taking your money. As my thanks for your help," she thumbed towards the direction of the bathroom.

" _A-ah,_ I insist," she firmly cut in when she saw he was about to argue.

"Okay." Whatever she said. What he really wanted was to see how she operated with his own eyes, so the faster he complied the faster this visit could end.

"Come," she led the way back to the center of the room.

Following her barefoot lead, Loki took off his shoes and took a seat. Face to face, right in front of each other with their legs crossed and a sea of pillows surrounding them. Before closing her eyes she reached for his hands and held them in hers like it was the most natural thing to do. 

"Stop fidgeting," she noted.

"Sorry, I was just -"

She finished his half spoken sentence with an infallible sounding affirmation, "I told you. It. Won't. Pour."

Loki blew out a breath, "Fine."

A short while later she suddenly peeked with one eye and asked, "What now?"

"I - it's just I see no cards, no crystal ball, no coffee grains or tea leafs or whatever you people usually use to do this kind of things," he shrugged.  

"I see," she closed it again, "would you prefer to get your reading from those?"

"Whatever works for you is fine by me." What did he know anyway when the only soothsayer he had in mind was none other than a wise mandrill?

"Very well then I'd say we can start by ditching the stereotypes."

"No offence," he deliberately rubbed his thumb to the back of her hand.

"None taken," she cleared her throat as blush of colour rushed to her cheeks.

"Clear your mind, bring your conscience to this moment as you breath in positivity and breath out negativity, in and out, in and out," she instructed.

"Good, that's it, keep on going," she cheered him on.

There was a peculiar soothing sensation in her voice, a rare quality that made him feel at ease. As if she took him to another time and faraway place, and he followed her there, willingly, to every ebb and flow of her ocean. 

The serenity felt quite nice, especially after the long day he had at the office. And her hands, her hands were so soft to the touch and though small, they fit perfectly and radiated so much warmth. It wasn't just that, but it felt pleasant and that amiable wave traveled from her fingertips towards his own. He thought it was his body reacting to their adjoined hands and their close proximity with just the two of them present, because to be honest, it felt somewhat intimate. It had been a while since he held other's hands in his like this so he might've enjoyed this a bit more than he should. At least that was until she suddenly (and fiercely) squeezed his palm after a few minutes of entrancing silence.

"Do you feel that?" 

With her brute force, how could he not? But then he looked at her eyes and knew that wasn't what she meant. He tried to search deeper only to find a candid bewilderment that now mirrored his own. 

"What do I suppose to _feel_ exactly?" he played it cool.

She began to babble to herself, something about the moon or whatever. He had no clue. Though he noticed that it was bigger and brighter than it should at this time of the month.

"What about it?" he asked, his curiosity growing.

" _Ssh!"_ she closed her eyes again, the crease on her forehead (adorably) deepened.

_Great, now you shushed me, what's the point of asking in the first place?_

"Listen," she said as she kept their linked fingers even tighter.

On what he ought to listen to he had absolutely no idea. Loki could hear nothing but the ticking of the clock and the murmur of the traffic outside. After a few minutes that felt like forever, her eyes fluttered open again and she looked at him as if for the first time. 

"Loki ..." she suddenly grabbed onto his arm before he had the change to study her reaction, and her other hand went to find the front of his shirt and grabbed on it too, pulling him closer until their faces were merely inches apart.

 _This sure escalated quickly,_  he burrowed his brows. But she smelt wonderful and looked even more so, he wouldn't be oppose to kissing her if that was what she wanted.

Following her advance Loki leaned a tad closer until the warmth of her breath caressed his face and his heartbeat accelerated. 

"It's alright," she said softly, almost despondently.

_Was that her approval? To kiss her?_

_Well don't mind if I do,_ Loki tilted his head to the side, ready to do what his baser instinct had been telling him to do since the second he laid his eyes on her lips. He lowered his lids, about to close their already narrow distance, closer to finding out how sweet she would taste. But before his lips could cover hers, she suddenly whispered the same line again.

"It's alright ..." she recited it in a whisper so soft it sounded like the sigh of the wind. And she kept on repeating those words until tears welled in her big round eyes.

 _Hold on one minute. She's not really going to cry is she? He hasn't done anything!_ "Hey, hey what's wrong?" 

Instead of answering she just cradled the side of his face with her palm, watching him with a look he could not decipher. And then finally, she mumbled words, words that were unclear yet unsettlingly too familiar to his ears.

Alerted, his body instantly stiffened, "Darcy?" 

She blinked a couple of times and a tear fell to her cheek as her palm dropped to his chest, right above his heart, and she repeated her lines, more clearly this time, "Pain. Don't hide them. The more you do, the more it hurts inside."

At once Loki felt a solid punch inside his gut as old memories jolted from within and everything he wanted to forget was as plain as day. "What did you just say?" he repeated, chastened.  _This woman could't possibly ..._

"Your mo-" she began to say, but he yanked himself away from her hold, stopping her from finishing the sentence.

"Don't you dare!" he shouted, already standing to his feet, sending some pillows scattered to the floor.

"Loki - it's okay," she tried to reach out, clearly hesitating, "It's not your fault. It never was."

"Who told you?" his tone turned ominous and without waiting for her to reply he shot out a different question, "Are other people's life a JOKE to you?"

"Dude, chill, that's not - " she stood to her feet.

He held up a hand, gesturing her to stop, "Spare me from your treachery you lying witch!"

"HA!" she threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "Spare me from yours! I know why you're really here!" she pointed at him, "You just wanted to know what I've been doing with those people you _couldn't_ help!"

"Oh for god's sake, you  **didn't**  help them, you're just messing with their head!" he tapped his forefinger to his temple.

"Is that why you're mad at me?" she asked with a pleased smirk, "That people prefer my method instead of seeking for your professional help?" 

"No!"  _Yes._  Yes he was actually. "I'm mad at you because you're fooling people, good people like Mrs. Cole. Now answer my damn question!"

"Why should I bother? Your close-minded brain would only refuse to believe me anyway."

 _My close-minded brain?!_ "I  _think_  you're just afraid I'd call you out on your lies."

"You know what, I've got some place else to be and you mister, you're wasting my precious time. I'm not here to tell people things they wanted to hear and I'm most definitely not here to humour your curiosity!" 

He snorted, walking closer to her, "I do not need you to humour me like you did my brother."

"What's that suppose to mean?" she jerked her head, annoyance in her tone. 

Loki sneered whilst pointing toward the wooden accent table where a clear, rounded glass vase was holding a bunch of Chrysanthemum, the very proof of his brother's idiocy, "I  _know_  my brother, he doesn't do mornings and flowers and yet I saw him did both earlier today."

"Been spying on me haven't you?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Don't. Change. The subject," he stepped even closer.

"Look, I don't know what's going on inside your thick little head but  _fyi_  that was  **not**  why he's here. Thor was simply a friend and those flowers are his thanks for -  _stuff_  that is none of your  _fucking_  business!" she perched both hands on her hips, visibly seething.

"Was it Fandral?" Loki pressed on, ignoring her rant. "Thor? Lucy?" The latter was pretty unlikely, she wasn't working for him back then. 

"None of them! No one told me shit about anything! You're just being delusional right now!"

"Let's not go there alright,  _sweetheart._ Analyzing me would be beyond your area of expertise." He was still pissed at being shouted at on the phone earlier that afternoon.  _Maybe_  it was partially his fault, not Mrs. Cole’s. He shouldn't have mentioned about the non-existence of spirits or heaven or whatever for that matter.

"I want answer," he looked down to her, noticing how her eyes turn a shade darker the more he approached. 

"I _already_ gave you my answer, you just haven't been listening," she challenged him back, holding her head high despite their palpable height difference.

"So you're saying that," he started with a cynical smile on his face, "some -  _spirits_  came and spoke to you?" 

"See! This kind of reaction is why I'd rather keep my mouth shut, thank you very much!" she threw a hand in the air as she stepped down from the platform and away from him.

"Man, don't you have some posh parties or whatever _la-dee-da_ you could go to rather than staying here, bothering me?!" she turned to face him, her hands crossed.

In his predatory gait, he followed her and cornered her further until her ass bumped onto the front side of a shelf, "I'd leave as soon after you give me an answer. You're the one who's making this harder than it should  _Darcy."_

They banter back and forth without her actually giving him what he wanted to hear. The nerve of this woman. It was only when Loki caged her between his hands that she began to rethink her strategy and shut her pretty mouth. He cornered her until they were standing toe-to-toe and his initial plan to intimidate her immediately backfired. The adrenaline that rushed through him made his heart pounded a little faster and his body hardened all over. He kept on telling himself that it wasn't because of her scent, her eyes, her lips, but that would be lying.

The hot and heavy temperature boiled to a sizzle when she darted her tongue and deliberately licked her luscious lips from tip to tip, undoubtedly noticing the direction of his stare. Loki's mind went blank and he couldn't stop himself when he intuitively lowered his head, careening toward her so close that if he went any further their lips would collide.

_Shit. Should I?_

Her eyes widened and her lips parted in a soft gasp. The beating of his heart was close to deafening as seconds passed. Lucky for him, she abruptly moved back and break the spell before his swayed mind could decide on what to do.

"Get out!" she snapped as she dug her fingers into a jar and throwing, what it appeared to be, salt at him as she stepped forward, edging him until they reached nearby the entrance.

 _What the hell,_  she kept on tossing the damn salt at him! "Stop it!" Loki snarled, trying to dodge away from the feisty brunette.

Somehow, somewhere between him trying to snatch that damn jar off of her hand and her adamant will to keep on dumping the whole content of that jar onto him, her cat jumped in. Really, it appeared out of the blue and literally jumped right on top of his head and went berserk. Screams and curses abounded as the little demon caterwauled at him while its owner was trying to disengage her from him. He was pretty sure he heard Darcy laughing at him  _while_  at the same time trying to save him with her half-assed, pseudo-effort. An unmanly shrieking might've been involved too. Everything was as boisterous as it was crazy, in short, definitely not the kind of thing he had expected or anticipated to happen the moment he decided to pay her a visit. He could only wish there weren't any CCTV in this place because it would be **mortifying**.

"It  _attacked_  me!" Loki hollered in disbelief after the hell-spawned cat and its deadly intention had been secured. His right palm was tracing some scratches on his left cheek as he stepped backward, away from that (still growling) fur-ball of terror.

"You'll live _,"_  she _boo-hooed_ and pouted unapologetically at him as she pushed him back past the sea-shell curtains and again toward the door. 

Darcy suddenly bent closer and learning from a clear-cut experience, Loki intuitively jumped back (her snigger didn’t escape his ear). But a click he heard from the door behind him made him sighed in relief. Round two surely wasn't going to happen now that she had disengaged the door. She then gave a final shove, a rather hard one at that, that brought him out to the cold curb with probably, more salt all over him than those mentioned in the book of Genesis.

"This isn't over," he promised, straightening his suit whilst brushing those blasted grains off him.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not done." With a wicked smirk and wayward glint she started to wave her hand about, her fingers looked as if they were prancing over an invisible piano as she chanted,

 

" _Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo_

_Es mundus excrementi,_

_Te futueo et caballum tuum!_

_bippity-boppity-boo!"_

 

"Was that suppose to mean something?" he scoffed at the nonsense, fingers brushing to his hair to oust the grains off his head.

"You said I'm a witch," she shrugged nonchalantly, "That was my parting gift for you. A little curse for your hair. Happy Halloween Mr. Odinson, have a  _boo-_ tiful night!" she said loudly before she slammed the door to his face and locking it for real. 

  

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